Quote:
Originally Posted by rice_classic
They aren't paying $50/hr. They are paying $40/hr with a lift or $30 with no lift. The $50/hr is ARPU (average revenue per unit). But the median income in this area is quite high so those prices are perfectly reasonable for this area. The parking garages that charge $60-100 per car to park at the Seahawks games are some of the first ones to fill up. People who work downtown commonly pay $300-400/month for parking memberships just so they can park downtown to work. Spending $50 to do something your dealership is going charge $300 for seems pretty reasonable. The standard shop rate for labor is $100/hr in many shops and dealerships it's 110-140/hr. Shit just costs more in the PacNW, almost on par with SanFran.
If I was in Texas or Utah then yes, $20-25/hr makes sense. Also if this was a "bring your own tools" type of shop then I would charge less (less overhead) and more $$ opportunity for tool rental. But one of the target demographics are folks that don't own a bunch of tools (apt dwellers) so I think it's better to be fully outfitted and build that into the cost.
Compare these 2. One's in Kirkland (expensive city) and the other is in Kent (less expensive city). Both seems to be making it work. The one in Kent I believe is planning to open a second location too.
http://stewsgarage.com/ (Kirkland)
http://selfservegarage.com/ (kent) |
The reduced rates for the longer periods make more sense and I never factored in that consideration. Pretty hard to tell they are "making it work" from a website though. Those could look so purdy because nobody ever goes there and the guy is loosing his shirt. I don't see his financials posted.
A quick search of them in Canada comes up with nothing. They seem to have completely died out and the little info I could find (forums mostly) all cite the cost of insurance as the reason.
I guess this is a business that is going to work or not based almost entirely upon location.